Knockdown container



Filed May 9, 1928 Patented Mar. 25, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEWILLIAM S. WOODMAN, OF LAKEWOOD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO LEO K.

WOODMAN, F CLEVELAND, OHIO KNOCKDOWN CONTAINER Application filed May 9,1928. Serial No. 276,2434.

This invention relates to knock-down sheet metal containers,particularly useful for granular or solidified materials and has for oneof its main objects to provide a knockdown container composed of partswhich can be compactly nested for storage or for shipment to the placeof use.

Solids of low melting point such as tar, asphalt, resin and the like arecommonly shipped in metallic containers, the materials being introducedinto the container in liquid form and afterward solidifying in thecontainer. At the point of use, the sheet metal container is usually cutand torn away from the solid mass of material within it to obtain accessto the material. The cutting and tearing away of a metallic containerfrom the solid mass of material within it is a laborious process usuallyaccompanied by a considergg'able waste of the material.

The present invention has for an object to provide a sheet metalcontainer that can be easily and quickly peeled oif from a mass of solidmaterial without damage to the sheet 425 metal of the containerandwithout breaking up the solid mass therein.

A further object is to provide a knockdown sheet metal containersuitable for ship- 3U ping loose or granular solids, as well assolidilied material, the container having heads, either of which may beremoved independently of the other and without dismantling the body ofthe container.

A further object 'is to provide a knock down sheet metal container ofcylindrical form in which the cylindrical body? is formed of a singlemetal sheet having ends adjoining along one side of the -container andin which 4o means directly connecting to the adjoining ends is providedfor detachably securing the ends together and for drawing the ends onetoward the other to contract the body and AVcause the same-to .tightlygrip the heads at the ends of the container to securely hold the headsin place.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cylindrical sheetmetal container having a one piece sheet metal body rovided 5o withedges secured together, as a ove deof material contained appertains.

scribed, in which the fastening means are ,located wholly within thecylindrical surface companying drawings hereinafter described y andparticularly set forth in the appended claims, together with suchvariations and modifications thereof as will be apparent to one skilledin the art to which the invention Reference should be had to theaccompanying drawings forming a part of this specification in which:

Figure 1 is a. side elevation of a container embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary View on an enlarged scale showing the upperportion of the container in vertical section and the lower portionthereof in side elevation.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary transverse section taken on the line indicatedat 3-3 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the' sealing strip employed in the jointbetween the ends of the metal sheet which forms the cylindrical body ofthe container.

Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken on the line indicated at 5-5 inFig. 2.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, tubular body l of the containeris composed of a single rolled metal sheet having its end edges joinedfrom the top to the bottom of the container at one side thereof by meanswhich will be hereinafter described.

In order to strengthen the top and bottom 95 edges of the container, theside edges of the rectangular sheet which forms the body 1 are bent backupon themselves to provide top and bottom edges 2 of double thickness.The end edges of the sheet, which is of rectangular form are doubledback upon themselves between the edge portions 2 to provide edges 3 ofdouble thickness. Longitudinal corrugations 4 are rolled in the sheetalong the edge portions 2 of double thickness and the rolls betweenwhich the sheet is passed to form the corrugations 4 may be formed toroll additional strengthening corrugations 5 interme diatethe doubledside edge portions, the corrugations 4 and 5 extending circumferentiallyaround the body of the container when the same is assembled. The endedges 3 of the sheet metal body are offset inwardly beyond the bottomsof the corrugations 5 and the corrugations 5 extend only to the offsetedges,

the forming rolls being provided with suitable longitudinal recesses toreceive the doubled edges 3 of the sheet.

In assembling the container, a scaling strip 6 is interposed between theedges 3 of the sheet metal body and this strip is formed from a flatsheetinetal strip by bending the opposite edge portions thereof inwardlytoward each other to adjacent the center of the l.trip and thenoutwardly to form outer flanges 7 of double thickness and inner flanges8 of single thickness spaced inwardly of the flanges 7 the'flanges 7 and8 providing between them oppositely facing channels to receive thedoubled edges 3 of the sheet. rFhe thickness of the double flanges 7 ofthe sealing strip correspond substantially to the inward offset of theedges 3 so that the outerl substantially fiat surface of the sealingstrip isl substantially flush with the cylindrical surface of the bodyof the container.

Adjacent the edges 3 at each end thereof, the sheet metal body of thecontainer has inwardly pressed indentations or recesses 9 and theserecesses are so arranged that recesses on opposite sides of the jointbetween the ends of the sheet are in transverse alinement. The recesses9 decrease in depth away from the edges 3 having bottom walls 10 lyingin a plane spaced inwardly from the sealing strip 6 and merging into thecylindrical surface at their outer ends. The inner end walls 11 of therecesses 9 are disposed substantially at right angles to the bottomWalls 10 and to the outer surface of the sealing strip interposedbetween the ends 3 of the sheet. The inner end walls 11 of the recesseshave apertures to receive transverse clamping bolts 12` which extendacross the space between transversely alined recesses inwardly of thesealing strip 6. The bottoms 10 of the alined recesses are inlongitudinal alinement and lie in a chord of the cylinder so that thebolts 12'can bev readily inserted endwise through the openings in theinner walls 11 of the recesses Each bolt has a head 13 at one endengageable with the wall 11 of one recess and and at its opposite end isthreaded to receive a nut 14 which bears upon`the outer side of the wall11 of the other recess so that as the The flanges 8 of the sealing stripare coeXtensive with the doubled edges 3 of the sheet v metal body andterminate adjacent the inner edge of the doubled portion 2 at the topandl bottom of the container.

At the ends of the sealing strip, the flanges 8 are cut away to providefiat end portions 16 and at the corners of the metal sheet which formsthe body 1 of the container, the doubled portions 2 are cut awayto'provide a space between the ends of the doubled portions equal to thewidth of the sealing strip to receive the vfiat end portions 16 of thesealing strip. The

end portions 16 of the sealing strip are also provided with transversecorrugations 17 which aline with the corrugations 4 and the doubled edgeportions 2 of the body so that the circumferential corrugations adjacentthe upper and lower edges of the body are continuous throughout thecircumference of the body. 1-

"At each end of the container, there is a onepiece cupped head 18 in theform of a sheet metal stamping whichhas a cylindrical flange 19 whichhas a close fit within the doubled edge portion 2 of the cylindricalbody and this iange is provided adjacent the base thereof with acircumferential corrugation 20 which is formed to receive thecorrugation 4 ofthe body. The flange 19 of each head has an outwardlybent outer edge portion 21 which extends outwardly over (the doublededge 2 of the body and is bent back upon itself to form a rounded edgev22.

YIn assembling the container, the end edges 3 of the body portion -1 arebrought into approximity, the sealing strip 6 is inserted between themandthe bolts 12 are then passed through the end walls 11 of the recesses9 and the nuts 11 are screwed onto the bolts. In order to permitinsertion of the heads, the bolt 12 positioned midway between the endsof the container may be first tightened while the bolts adjacent theends of the container are left loose. This will permit the end edges ofthe sheet metal body to spring apart at either end of thecontainer sothat either head can be put in place by pressing it into the end of thecylindrical body, forcing the body portion of the head past thecorrugations 4 and causing the corrugation 30 to spring into thecorrugation 4 of the head.' After one head has been put in place, thebolt adjacent this roo head is tightened to cause the body to securely lgrip the same after which the container may7 be inverted and filled withthe material to be shipped. After the material is put in the container,the remaining head may be sprung into the open top of the containerafter which the clamping bolt adjacent the top of the cont-ainer will betightened to securely hold this head in place. If the container isfilled with solidified material, the container can be quickly peeled offfrom the solid material by removing the bolts 12, separating the edges 3of the sheet and rolling the solid cylinder of ma! terial off of thesheet metal body l. If desired, the container may be again used sincenone of the parts are damaged in removing the container from the solidmass of material. When the container is used for shipping loose orgranular solids, the material may be re-` moved from the containersimply by loosening the clamping bolt at the top of the container andremoving the head.

It' will be apparent that the present invention provides a knockdownsheet metal container composed of a minimum number of parts and thateach of these parts is of very simple construction, capable of beingrapidly manufactured by standard sheet metal working machinery.

Furthermore, all of the parts may be made of relatively light metal sothat the cost of materials as well as the cost of manufacture is quitelow.

What I claim is:

l. A knockdown container comprising a tubular body formed of a singlemetal sheet having its end edges adjoining from the top to the bottom ofthe container, the adjoining end portions of said sheethavingtransversely alined external recesses formed therein adjacent thetop and bottom of the container, bolts having their ends in said alinedrecesses and connecting the adjoining ends of said sheets, and headsfitting in opposite ends of' said body, said heads and body havinginterfitting circumferential portions for locking the heads in placewhen the body is conltOi-acted upon the heads by tightening said olts.

2. A knockdown container comprising a tubular body formed of a singlemetal sheet having its end edges adjoining from the top to the bottom ofthe container, the adjoining end portions of said sheet havingtransversely alined external recessesv formed therein adjacent the topand bottom ofthe container and intermediate the top and bottom thereof,a sealing strip having oppositely disposed grooves to receive the edgesof said sheet, bolts extending across the space between each pair ofalined recesses within said sealing strip and connecting the adjoiningends of the sheet, and heads adapted to be forced into the opposite endsof the tubular body when the end bolts are loose and to be clampedwithin the ends of the tubular body when the' bolts are tightened.

3. A knockdown container comprising a tubular body composed of sheetmetal having edges adjoining from the top to the bottom of thecontainer, the sheet metal adjacent the adjoining edges havingtransversely alined pressed in recesses, a sealing strip interposedbetween adjoining edges of the sheet metal, said strip being formed tooverlie said adjoining edges and to provide oppositely disposed groovesto receive said edges, bolts extending across the spaces between saidre,- cesses within the sealing strip for drawing said edges into tightengagement with said sealing strip, and heads fitting in opposite endsof the tubular body, said heads and said body having interfittingcircumferential portions by which said heads are held in place.

. 4. A knockdown container comprising a cylindrical body formed of asingle metal sheet having its side and end edges bent back to provideedge portions of double thickness, the end edges being inwardly offsetwith respect to the body of the sheet, said sheet having bolt receivingrecesses formed therein adjacent said inwardly offset ends, a sealingstrip having oppositely facing grooves to receive the ends of saidsheet, the outer face of said strip being substantially flush with theouter surface of the cylindrical body, bolts positionedv in saidrecesses and extending across the space between the adjoining edges ofthe sheet within said sealing strip, and stamped sheet metal headshaving peripheral flanges fitting within the doubled edges of the sheetmetal body at the ends of the container, the doubled edges ofthe sheetmetal body and the flanges of the head having interfitting corrugationsrolled therein.

5. A knockdown container comprising a cylindrical body formed of asingle metal sheet having its side and end edges bent back to provideedge portions of double thickness, the end edges being inwardly offsetwith respect to the body of the sheet, said sheet having bolt receivingrecesses formed therein adjacent said inwardly offset ends, a sealingstrip having oppositely facing grooves to receive the ends of saidsheet, the outer face of said strip being substantially flush with theouter surface of the cylindrical body, bolts positioned in said recessesand extending across the space between the adjoining edges of the sheetwithin said sealing strip, and stamped sheet metal heads havingperipheral fianges fitting within the doubled edges of the sheet metalbody at the ends of the container,.the doubled edges of the sheet metalbody and the flanges of the head having intertting corrugations rolledtherein, said head having peripheral portions extending outi wardly overthe edges of said body and overlying the ends of said sealing strip tohold the same against endwise movement.

6. A knockdown container comprising a cylindrical body formed of asingle metal sheet having end edges adjoining along one side of thebody, said sheet having its side and end edges bent back upon the bodyof the sheet to provide edge portions of double thickness, the end edgesbeing oifset inwardly, a folded sheet metal sealing strip interposedbetween said end edges and having flange portions bent to provideoppositely facing grooves to receive said edges, the outer surface ofsaid strip lying flush with the exterior cylindrical surface of saidbody, indentations in said body on opposite sides; of the sealing strip,saidl indentations being transversely alined and having end wallsadjacent the sealing strip projecting inwardly past said strip, boltsextending through the end walls of said indentations and withinthe'sealing strips, said bolts lying wholly within the periphery of thebody, stamped a@ sheet metal heads having cylindrical flanges fittingWithin the ends of the body, said flanges having outwardly extendingreversely bent outer edge portions fitting over the edges of the bodyand engaging the ends of 2&5 the sealing strip to hold the same againstendwise movement.

7. A knockdown container comprising a tubular body composed of sheetmetal having edges adjoining from the top to the bottom of thecontainer, the sheet metal adjacent the adjoining edges havingtransversely alined pressed in recesses, a sealing strip interposedbetween adjoining edges of the sheet metal, said strip being formed tooverlie said adjoining edges and to provide oppositely disposed groovesto receive said edges, and bolts having their ends in the alinedrecesses and extendingacross the spaces between said recesses within thesealing strip for drawfio ing said edges into tight engagement with saidsealing strip.

8. ln a knockdown container, a cylindrical body formed of a single metalsheet having its end edges bent back to provide edge porle tions ofdouble thickness, the end edges being inwardly oset with respect to thebody of the sheet, said sheet having transversely alined pressed in boltreceiving recesses therein adjacent said inwardly offset end edges, a

` sealing strip having oppositely facing grooves to receive the doubledinwardly offset edges of said sheet, the outer face of said strip beingsubstantially flush with the outer surfaces of the cylindrical body,bolts positioned insaid recesses'and extending across the space betweenthe recesses within the sealing strip for drawing said edges into tightengagement with said strip.

In testimony whereof I aihx my signature. WILLIAM S. WOODMAN.

